True Evil
by Blackheart Ravensoul
Summary: My version of why Maleficent cursed Aurora
1. Chapter 1

The True Evil

Chapter 1

Queen Aurora gave a loud sigh of frustration, things were not going well for the kingdom of East. Once many years ago she married the man of her dreams and the two of them were supposed to live happily ever after. And for a while they did but all that changed one day. It all began eighteen years ago. She had just given birth to her first child; lovely boy whom she and her husband named William. He had Philips ash brown hair, but his eyes were blue just like Aurora's. The three good fairys blessed the boy with wisdom, strength and beauty.

Will grew loved and adored by all. He never talked back, he was a sweet and kind child. Since he was prince, and the only heir to the throne of the Kingdoms of East and West, his parents had already found him a future wife to marry when he came of age. Her name was Eva, and she hailed from the small kingdom not very far away. Only a year older than William, she was a kind and gentle soul.

As the young prince grew Aurora's love for him seemed to only grow stronger. Her son learned to ride his first horse with his father. The fairys taught him how to read and history and other things a good future king needed to know. Yes, life was indeed peaceful, an eternal spring of beauty and prosperity, a golden age. Two kingdoms united, a beautiful and beloved queen, a just and respected king and a lovely young prince life was truly good in the Kingdom of East and West.

When William turned ten he was still a child in his parents eyes. He had his mother curiosity and adventurous spirit. It was a war summers eve when they were having a picnic in the royal forest that Aurora had fallen asleep and dreamt the strangest dream. The last thing she remembered was the warmth of the sun on her face and the voices of her son and her husband, whom she loved so much. Suddenly the voices began to fade, the light dimmed. It was cold and dark. Snow fell from the ash- grey sky. There was a man in black armor ridding on a black horse, his dark helmet was shaped like a dragon, behind him stood an army of black riders and a city on fire. Terrified she awoke from the dream only to see the concerned eyes of her son and king Philip gazing at her. She didn't want to ruin the mood so she said nothing. Soon after she had forgotten all about it.

Years rolled by, William turned into a young man, not a child anymore. He was twelve when father took him on his first hunt. The prince knew how to shoot from a bow but he had never been on a hunt before. Aurora stood in the balcony of the palace and waved goodbye as the royal hunting party rode off into the woods. Just as she set foot into her and Philips bedroom a sinking feeling overcame her. The queen couldn't move, her mind was overwhelmed by the feeling that something bad was going to happen. It passed as soon as it had come leaving her to wonder what the cause of all this was. Later that evening the party returned with great new, the price, as young as he was managed to shoot a huge deer. The beast was roasted and a grand feast was held for the prince. All worries once again forgotten.

When William turned fourteen he was riding all over the place, escaping from his escort and pulling pranks on servants. The time of his marriage was near, he was a child no longer, almost a grown man now. The king said to give him some freedom, but Aurora missed the afternoons all three of them spent together. William began spending time away from the castle, sometimes ridding to the furthest provinces of the kingdom for no apparent reason. Phillip stated the it was good for a prince to be interested in his kingdom. But that did not ease Aurora's concern.

"Don't worry, let him enjoy his homeland for a bit longer." He kissed he forehead gently.

Aurora knew he husband was right. Once he married princess Eva their son would move away for a few years to the Kingdom of Flowers. She supposed Will would miss his home, she certainly would. Letting him explore the kingdom he wouldn't see in years to come was probably for the best. He was probably just saying goodbye in his own way.

Soon the fatted day arrived. Prince William, the king and two of the good fairies left along with a huge escort to the kingdom of Flowers. There the prince will marry princess Eva and will live until his parents retire and he will become the next King of the Three Kingdoms. Aurora had stayed behind for she had fallen ill few days before. The fairy Fauna stayed by her side. Most of the time she spent in bed drifting in and out of sleep. When she dreamt she had nightmares, the man in black had appeared in several of them.

With a start the queen jumped in her bed after another nightmare. For a moment she stared blankly into the darkness not sure if she awake or dreaming. She turned her head and suddenly screamed, the candle holder was floating above the ivory bedside table. The metal object fell clanging to the ground as Fauna burst into her room in her long white nightgown to see what was wrong.

"Aurora? Are you all right dear?"

She pointed at the candleholder that lay on the floor.

"It it was, was floating" she gasped for air

"Whatever do you mean, dear?"

"I saw it" Aurora tried to steady her breath " I woke up and and I wasn't sure if, if I was dreaming. Then I turned my head and and there it was, floating above my head.

"Nonsense, dear you must have imagined it." The fairy said in an attempt to calm her.

"But then, how is it on the floor?"

"Oh, well, you must have knocked it over accidentally."

Fauna waved her magic wand and the candle holder picked itself up, the candles got back into their places and magic fire lit them up.

"See dear, nothing to worry about. Items don't float around unless one uses magic on them."

"I suppose" she sighed

"Is anything else troubling you, your majesty?"

"Well, I don't know exactly." She said" there is this dream, I've had many times in the past years."

"What about?" the fairy asked in concern

"There is this man on a black horse and an army and a city is burning. I don't know why but it terrifies me"

"What does he look like?"

"I can't see his face, he is all dressed in black and on his head he has this helmet with a black dragon on it."

"A dragon you say? Oh, my, that is scary, but you don't need to worry it's just a dream, now try to get some sleep, it's still early in the morning." The petit woman bowed and left closing the door behind her.

The queen awoke in the late morning feeling much better. The maid brought her a tray full of food, but Aurora didn't feel like eating anything. She drank a glass of water and fell against the pillows. It was boring sitting in bed all day but the royal doctor wouldn't allow her to leave her room for she was too weak. It was a mystery for everybody including the queen herself why a healthy woman in her thirties would suddenly collapse for no apparent reason. The doctor suggested it was due to exhaustion, thou Aurora could argue that none of her daily duties as queen were even remotely tiring.

She desperately wished for a way to entrain herself. The doctor didn't even allow to read for it put too much excitement on the mind. with her husband and son away and all of her books taken the queen was out of things to do.

"This isn't fair, I'm the queen! Why do I have to listen to some silly doctor. There is nothing wrong with me, anyways" she wanted to scream out loud.

She pouted glaring at the door . Minutes passed and nothing happened. Aurora gave up her anger spent, she decided to go back to sleep when she heard something. Turning her head she saw and apple rolling on the floor. She supposed it could have fallen out of the fruit pile the maid brought her. She stared at the red fruit in the middle of the room for a moment but nothing happened.

"I must be losing my mind. and if I am its all the doctor's fault for locking me in here with nothing to do" she thought bitterly and slammed her fist against the sheets

Suddenly an apple from the basket rose in the air and launched itself into the door the moment Aurora did that. Baffled she looked the door, then at the fruit, the at her hand.

"Did I do that?" the thought that her little outburst even thou it only occurred in her mind could have cause this strange phenomena.

"No, it can't be me" she sighed" councilor Fauna said that the things don't happen unless magic is involved. There is nothing magical about me, is there? She thought.

Fauna came in to check on the queen, and to cheer her up by bringing her a book. To the surprise of the fairy she found the woman sitting in her bed and staring at an apple on her lap.

"Oh, come on" she whispered" move" the queen was losing her patience, for the past forty minutes she had been staring at that apple willing it to move.

Just when she was about to give up she noticed Fauna staring at her from the doorway and felt embarrassed and slightly settled. She wished she could to explain it in a way that didn't sound like she had gone mad. The more she waited to respond the more ashamed she felt, wishing she could just disappear into the ground. Suddenly as if encouraged by her humiliation the apple shot straight at the good fairy. Fauna snapped out of her surprise and ducked behind the door. The apple smashed into the wall of the hallway.

"I'm so sorry" the queen whispered feeling even more ashamed

"Did you do this, your majesty?

"To be honest I don't know. Since I woke up things seem to be moving on their own. And I thought I could make them move as I wish but they don't. I know it was silly of me to thing I have this power. After all there is nothing magical about me." She sighed

"But there is, your highness" the fairy exclaimed" whenever a royal child is born the fairys of the kingdom if the king and queen allow it bestow magical gifts upon the newborn. To you me and my sisters have given the gifts of beauty, the gift of song and the gift of kindness.

"So then without your gifts I would be ugly?"

"Oh, no your highness, you would look as beautifully as you are. These gifts don't give what one does not possess, they simply amplify the natural beauty you already possess. Same with your voice and the kindness you had in you since you were just a baby."

"I see, I am grateful to you" she smiled" but how does this explain the things that have been happening all morning.?"

"Well" the older woman answered insecurely" your parents were also blessed with some kind of magical gifts, and their parents also so it is very likely that magic is in your blood."

"Have any of the other nobles ever possessed magic?"

"I am not sure, majesty" the fairy responded after a shot pause" this kingdom is quite young, and there is little of knowledge of the where it's founders came from."

"I see" Aurora sighed" is there a way to know if a person has magic in them and how much?"

" Well that should be simple" Fauna said" you certainly possess a little bit of magic in you, but the amount is small I doubt the method would even work" she took out her magic wand" all you have to do is use this wand, if there is magic in you then you should be able to use it"

" But you don't think it will work?"

"Well it is unlikely"

Aurora took the glass wand, when the fairy held it the piece of glass was glowing, once the queen took it the light vanished.

"Seen, your majesty" the fairy said apologetically" it's not that much"

Suddenly to the surprise of both Fauna and Aurora the wand lit up bright. The queen pointed it at the apple in the middle of the room and it flew towards her.

"Careful, dear" the fairy exclaimed

The fruit didn't stop and Aurora panicked and dropped the wand. The out of control apple was flying around the room. Fauna ducked as it flew right above her head and took her wand.

"Bad apple" she said to the fruit" away with you" in a wave of the wand it had vanished." Are you alright, your highness?"

"Yes, but I don't think I will using magic any time soon"

Both laughed at the whole little incident.

If only she had known then what the future will bring. Aurora bitterly looked upon the image of her younger self laughing at the mishap with the apple reflected in the greed flame. If only she had known, with a wave of her hand she made the flames died down.

"What a fool I have been." She cried burring he face in her pale hands. A black raven landed on her shoulder and put its wing around her head to comfort her. "What would I give to turn back time"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

After the mishap with the flying apple Aurora had suddenly made a miraculous recovery. The very next day she woke up full of energy. Fauna believed this weakness to be the consequence of her magical power coming to the surface. The fairy also suggested that if the queen wanted, she and her sisters would teach her some basic magics once they returned from the Kingdom of Flowers. Aurora thought about it, magic seemed harmless, after all, the fairys used it to make items move or grow flowers or to create soap bubbles. Maybe if she learned some it would allow her to control it better. She might have a nightmare and lift things into the air again, or throw them at people without meaning to.

Since she had gotten better the queen wrote a long apology letter to her son and his wife. It was not her intention to fall ill and miss the most important day in Will's life. She promised to come and visit them as soon she could. After all it was a mother's job to worry for her son. That being done she made her way to the library, now that she was well again nobody could stop her from reading.

Things went on as they usually did, except for the absence of the young prince. Philip returned two days later along with his escort. Aurora was overjoyed to see her husband after two weeks of being apart, for they usually spent most of their time together from dawn to dusk. The king was also glad to be home once more. A party was held that very night to celebrate the safe return of the king and his court as well the queen's quick recovery. After the little celebration was over Aurora and Phillip finally got some time alone. She spent most of the party preparing for this conversation.

" Philip, there is something I need to tell you. "

"What is it my love?"

"I'm magical"

"Of course you are" he smiled at her, and petted her head.

"I mean I have magic in me"

"What?"

"Fauna thinks that is the reason I collapsed, my magic was awakening. The fairys could train me if I asked them to. But…"

"But?" the king echoed

"I want to know what you think" she answered

"Well I don't know, having a sorceress for a wife might be scary" he said jokingly

"You know I might drop on you by accident." She told him what happened with the candle holder and the apples.

Philip laughed through most of it, but finally he spoke.

"This power is yours what you do with it is up to you, just know that whatever you decide I will always support you "

"Thank you" she smiled

He pulled her into an embrace and for a moment they stood there unmoving.

"I don't think we should announce this fact to the rest of kingdom" the king said with a slight hesitation.

"Yes, you're right" Aurora agreed" the only magic they know is the three fairys, a magical human might be a bit of a shock to them. I myself have never thought it possible for a human to wield magic."

"I have" Philip said after a pause" but it was only a rumor going around the kingdom when I was a boy."

"What kind of rumor?"

"A dark one, " he said in a weary voice " but the sun has already set, this not the time for scary tales. It might give you nightmares, and I wouldn't want you to get scared and drop something on me" they both burst into laugh.

The queen went to tell the fairys she made her decision. As she arrived Fauna had just been informing them of the situation.

"Your majesty" all three bowed when she entered Faunas room.

"What brings you here this late?" Flora asked.

"I've made my decision" she stated

"Yes, dear" Fauna encouraged her

"If it is no trouble to you three, I would like to learn magic"

"No trouble at all, dear" the green fairy said, her two sisters agreed.

"However" Aurora said" I've discussed this with Philip and we think the kingdom doesn't need to know about this. I would like to keep it as secret as possible, if you don't mind"

"Oh, of course your majesty" Fauna agreed

"We could do it at night when everyone's asleep" Flora suggested

"You mean like now?" Merryweather asked" But where ?"

For a while the fairys argued over the location when they finally agreed on one. They will train Aurora in the old tower above the library late at night or before dawn when there was no one around to see it. That being decided the queen went to bed, for her first magic lesson awaited bright and early in the morning.

As the sun was just beginning to show it's light purple color above the fields queen Aurora silently got out of bed and left her sleeping husband. Avoiding the sleepy guards that patrolled the halls of the castle she made her way to the library. At the very back of the large room there was a small wooden door that was usually locked; now it was slightly ajar. The queen closed the door behind her and began making her way up the winding stairs. Fauna was waiting for her in the small room at the top. Aurora noted all the windows were covered with heavy cloth.

"good morning, your majesty" the fairy greeted her

"Good morning, mistress Fauna"

"Are you ready to begin?"

The queen nodded, not sure what to expect.

"Until you lean to properly control your magic" the fairy spoke" you should a wand to stabilize it, Flora lend me hers" she handed the glass wand to the queen." Once you get better you won't need it. Thou I admit I know very little about human sorceressess."

"But there have been humans who possess magic?"

"Oh, yes. Quite a few , but I've never met any, only heard the rumors. Now let's get started , shall we?"

Fauna waved her wand and a magical orb of light appeared. It flew around the room providing more of the necessary light.

"You try it, dear"

Aurora tried to copy Fauna's moves but what came out wasn't a perfectly round orb. It was a small little light that flew around leaving a trail of tiny lights behind itself. It flew halfway around the room and vanished.

"Not bad for a first try." The fairy tried to comfort her.

Aurora tried again and again but the result didn't change much. All she found out was that the tail of light behind the spark was her magic leaking out from the spell. She was told to practice without a wand, to keep her magic focused in one place, to make it more solid. The training didn't last that long, though for the queen it seemed like hours. She felt tired in a way she never felt before. Fauna said it was natural, her powers have not fully awoken, and she used them quite a lot today.

She snuck back into her room and slipped under the covers hopping to catch an hour of sleep before her duties as queen began. Sleep instantly overcame her. She awoke feeling rested and to her surprise alone. The room was bright and she realized that it wasn't morning anymore. Feeling embarrassed she got dressed and hurried to find her husband. One of the guards informed her that the king left early this morning on some important business to what was his former kingdom and should return late in the evening. Left alone again Aurora went back to her room. She sat on the large bed and closed her eyes. "To use magic one must feel it" she remembered the fairys words. She had magic, but she doubted she could ever feel it.

After an hour of attempting to focus her magic into an energy sphere she was ready to give up. Without a wand her magic didn't even respond.

"I'm never going to get any good at this." She thought and sighed heavily.

* * *

It was dark and cold and damp. She waited , no sound came from the outside. It seemed she was safe for now, the riders have fallen behind. Getting back on her feet Aurora summoned an orb green light to light her path. Her lips curved into a sad smile when she thought back on how hard it once was for her.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It took Aurora about a month just to get the spell working while using a wand. Now she could focus her magic into a sphere and maintain it for a few seconds on her own. She also noticed that it was much easier to cast spells if she was angry, but too much of it would make her lose control of her magic so the queen tried to keep herself as calm as possible.

Days went on, summer sunshine turned into dark clouds that whipped the land with icy rain. As the birds left their home in the woods it was clear for all that winter was getting closer. There was much to be done before the first snow fell and the peasants were hard at work. At the palace preparations were also being made. The king and queen were moving to their winter palace, it was more to the south and much warmer during the cold moths.

After an almost a fortnight they arrived at the winter palace. The servants were busy steeling in and preparing everything for the long winter months. Meanwhile Aurora was up at the tower room looking at the beautiful landscape out the window. This part of the kingdom was closer to the sea and she could see the coastline in the horizon. The queen had never been on a ship and when she gazed at the sea, even if it was from a distance she wondered what it would be like. Her thoughts were interrupted by the fairy Fauna. "Excuse me, your majesty. I have a letter to you, it's from prince William" "From William!" Aurora's eyes lit up with joy.

However her happiness was short-lived. The letter was sent directly here, since the prince didn't remember when exactly they would be moving. She was glad to know he wasn't upset that she didn't come to his wedding, the prince was glad to know his mother was healthy once more. William also wrote about and expedition that he would be taking part in with the king.

The kingdom of Flowers was neighbors with the Land of the Iron Mountains. The two kingdoms were separated by a wasteland between them. A dark and dreadful place, full of ancient legends and ghost tales. However recently the caravans traveling to the Kingdom of the Flowers or anywhere further began to disappear there. The king of the Iron Mountains didn't want to suspect that his neighboring kingdom was behind it. But since the Black Waste was the only path east for his caravans he proposed a joined expedition. It was believed that bandits have taken up residence in the mountain there and were looting caravans. Twenty five men from the Kingdom of Flowers and another fifty from the Land of Iron Mountains.

Aurora was worried her son had joined this bandit hunt as the prince of both Kingdom of Flowers and his home kingdom in order to forge better relations with the neighbors. Thou his intentions were admirable the expedition held potential danger for his life. And according to his letter they have already left. Philip tried to reassure her that everything will be alright but a the terrible feeling that something bad was going to happen didn't leave her alone. That night she could barely sleep, the nightmare about the black army haunted her and it was cleared than any other time before. The screams of the people, the smell of smoke and blood were so strong they nearly suffocated her. The queen awoke gasping for air. Looking around the pitch black room she couldn't make out where she was and it frightened her. Then she heard a sound and froze. Listening carefully she realized it was snoring. Making a small orb of light she looked to her right. Philip was sound asleep right beside her and she felt ashamed for getting so scared. Getting out of bed and silently went out of their room. She made her way to the top room in the tower , it was her favorite place. There was enough light coming in through the huge windows so she didn't a candle or a spell to see. The sky was clear so she pulled a chair closer to the window so she could see them. She sat there until she fell asleep.

The next day Queen Aurora was wandering among the tall shelves of the library, trying to escape from bad feeling inside her. She didn't feel like talking to anybody about it, Philip wouldn't understand it, the fairies probably wouldn't either. Once in a while if a book cove caught her interest she would flip through it. In one of the books she saw a picture of a wizard holding a ball of fire in his hand, in was a story book but it caused Aurora to wonder if she could do that too. In another book called " the Tales and Legends of The Twelve Kingdoms". The number twelve struck her as odd since there were only seven kingdoms around, now six since she and Philip had united theirs. So there was : kingdom Of East and West, Kingdom of Two rivers, Kingdom of the Grey Lake, Kingdom of Flowers, Land of the Iron Mountains, and The Kingdom of the Valley.

Flipping through the book Aurora stopped at one peculiar story. "The Kingdom of the Forbidden Mountains." written by an nameless author. According to the author of this book there has been once a great kingdom there. The people of that kingdom were elves, magical and long living, wise and peaceful. That kingdom was said to have been the first one. But something terrible happened, a power evil appeared one day and after many long battles the elves were annihilated. Now only ruins remain deep in the mountains as proof of their existence. Aurora doubted this was true, then again nobody went near the forbidden mountains. They marked the border of their kingdom. Tall and unclimbable, with scarp rocks and dark storm clouds always looming over them.

The author continued his story. After the elves were destroyed the evil being stayed at the mountains. Nobody knew how much time has passed but when the first human kingdoms began to settle near the mountains the being began to wreak havoc on them. The people of the kingdoms named that dark being Maleficent, the author noted that the race or gender of it were never specified. After many attempts to ward it off with wizards and fairies the kings of the small kingdoms finally united and declared a crusade. A great army marched upon the Forbidden mountains. While there are no records of who won this battle the author notes that that Maleficent never bothered the kingdoms again. However the name Maleficent still lives on in folklore and fairytales. Aurora herself had heard a few of them as a child. It was something parents scared their children with when misbehaved. However she didn't know about the origin of the those stories.

Another legend that caught her attention was about the Kingdom of the Flowers and the Black Waste. Apparently a long time ago, when there were still dragons, a dragon resided there. A huge black dragon, whose name everybody had long forgotten. He plundered the surrounding lands, and when there was no gold left he would fly even further . His flame was so hot that it turned everything to ash in seconds. People starved, all their valuables taken, their homes and fields burnt. One day a brave King from a faraway land came to those parts he sought out the dragons lair in the Black Waste and killed the beast while it slept. He cut out the dragons heart and ate it as a custom of dragon slayers, for it is believed that it grants one the long life and strength of the dragon. The gold was returned to the people and the king ruled over them. The author noted that he lived longer than any other, over a hundred years, and for as long as he lived was never defeated in battle . He took many distant lands and brought back their riches, much like the dragon, but his people prospered According to the book, this king was buried in the dragons cave after he died.

Aurora put the book down. William was somewhere in the Black Waste, fortunately he was only chasing a band of thieves and not a dragon. But then the image of the man from her dream surfaced. A man in black armor on a black horse with a black dragon on his helmet. She remember men carrying flags with black dragons on them. The burning city, behind him. Could it be the king from the story? "But that was long ago, no need to worry about it." She felt slightly better now and decided to go for a ride around the country side, preferably with Philip.

* * *

Aurora looked around, didn't seem like anybody was there. Lowering her staff she slowly approached the entrance to the crypt. With a wave of her hand she teleported inside, without opening the old rusted gate. Walking down the winding stairs she entered the small room with the sarcophagus. Kneeling beside it she placed a single red rose on the heavy stone lid. "I promise, I will set things right, my love. Somehow I will". The black raven cawed warning her of approaching danger. "I have to go Philip, goodbye" and she teleported herself out in a flash of green flame.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Winter began with beautiful snowflakes covering the ground in white. But Aurora didn't see them, she sat in her favorite place with tear-filled eyes. A letter had come from the Kingdom of Flowers. The expedition didn't give any results but the worst of it was that one night while they were camping prince William disappeared. A search party was sent to find him, after a week they had nothing to show for it. Her precious son was lost. She knew this expedition wasn't going to end well, but nobody listened to her.

Days passed with no news. The Queen had given up hope to ever see her son again. Instead she threw her energy into her magic studies. All she wanted was to be left alone but the more she secluded herself the more people came to bother her. The lessons with the fairies were the only time she wouldn't be bothered by "the concerned people". To her surprise Aurora found that misery was powerful fuel for magic almost as much as anger. She could summon a medium sized light orb and control it without a wand. Fauna decided it was time to try something new so now she was trying to turn the spell into soap bubbles. The Queen threw herself into it and had the spell down within a day. "Well done , your majesty" the tiny fairy congratulated her" you are making great progress." "Thank you" Aurora responded carefully searching for words to voice the question that was on her mind" well, a while ago I read this book, a fairytale book and a wizard there could make orbs of fire. I was wondering if I could do that" "Oh, I don't really know your majesty, fairy magic can't do that, it can't be used to hurt others. I don't know anything about wizards magic. Well the best way, I suppose is to try it for yourself." Aurora thanked her for an honest answer, but inside she felt unsure, how does one learn what was never shown?

After returning to her room Aurora found a bottle of medicine from the royal doctor, and a vase with lovely flowers from Philip. At least her was smart enough to give her some space and didn't try to smother her in comfort when all she wanted was some alone time. With a wave of her hand she made the medicine bottle turn into soap bubbles and then popped them one by one laughing at this little idea. "Well, looks like somebody is feeling a lot better" Philip walked in and hugged her. "A little bit better" she smiled at him" Are you going somewhere?" she noticed he was dressed in his travel clothes." There is some trouble at the village in the nearby valley. With the never ending snow they have a hard time getting out of the village, it the snow doesn't stop nobody will be able to leave or go in until spring." " Oh, my. That is just terrible" " It usually doesn't snow this long in these parts, they were not prepared for it. I'll try talking the surrounding towns to take them in just until the weather gets better." "All right, but be safe" she kissed him on the cheek. "Don't worry, I will"

With Philip gone and her lessons over for the day she went to the library. There were many books, but none of them were about magic. She wondered why that was. Finding nothing she wanted to read Aurora went to her favorite place in the tower. She sat there gazing at the dancing snow, the storm somehow made her feel better. Closing her eyes she decided to try that spell. Not knowing anything about making magical fire she just made another orb of light. Then she stared at willing it to burn. Nothing happened. Disappointed she turned it into soap bubbles and tried to do it again. It didn't work. The had to be a different way of doing this. The two were similar but different also. Orb of light and orb of fire. Light only shines but fire can also burn. Closing her eyes she tried to imagine holding a real fire in her hand a small bright fire. Aurora was so focused that she wasn't sure what happened, but suddenly she felt a burning sensation in her palm and pain shot through her. When she opened her eyes there was red burn on her palm.

Merryweather tended to her burn, with the other two fairies gone to help the King. "What on earth happened to you ,your majesty?" the blue fairy asked "I was trying to make a ball of fire like the wizards in the books" "A ball of fire? What possessed you to do that?" "I don't know, I just want to find out if I can do it. This is something fairies can't do, isn't it?" "Well there might be fairies that can do it, but as my mother used to say: those who play with fire, get burnt. If you don't know how to do a spell, you shouldn't try it or else something like this will happen." Aurora nodded in agreement, but in heart she wanted to try it again, after she wouldn't have had that burn if the spell wouldn't have worked. Thanking the fairy she retired to bed. All alone in her room she couldn't help but think about her lost son and weather he was alive or not.

* * *

Aurora stared at the fire, thinking about the old times when her only worries were making soup bubbles and looking after her family. The times when she still had a family and a kingdom. She was lost in thought, she didn't sense the enemies approach. Before she knew it five well-armed men in black armor burst into the cabin she was saying in for the night. " it's the Queen, get her" one of them shouted. Aurora jumped from the chair and grabbing her staff aimed at them "Stand back you fools" she shouted before unleashing the spell that caused the cabin to burst into green flames. She teleported herself out but the soldiers weren't so lucky. Staring at the blazing cabin she swore" William will pay for this, for everything."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A year had passed and much has happened. Aurora found herself crying once again. When news of her son returning after being missing for months reached her she was overwhelmed with joy. However that happiness was short lived. It was when she and Philip were preparing to visit the Kingdom of the Flowers to celebrate Williams safe return that the new of the Kings death reached them. The kindhearted king of the Kingdom of Flowers died suddenly in the night. William was supposed to receive the throne since he was the crown prince but all of this was to happen much later, after his parents had retired as king and queen and the kingdoms would be united upon the now dead kings request.

It was a few days after the news of the kings death had reached that they received a night visitor. The King and Queen with the royal court were planning to leave for the funeral the next day when a man rode into the castle yard on a half-crazed horse and fell unconscious in a puddle of his own blood. The injured man turned out to be the captain of the royal guards of the Kingdom of Flowers. The three fairies tended to his wounds and he awoke the next morning demanding to see the king and queen.

Philip was reluctant to bring Aurora along but the man refused to drink or eat until he got a private audience. The queen felt uneasy, something inside her was telling her this was not going to be good news.

"Tell me good knight, what brings you to our Kingdom and in such a state no less?" Philip inquired

"Pardon me your majesty, I am knight no more, I was exiled for my faithful services to the crown"

"Exiled? By who? "

"By the new king."

"Whatever do you mean? The thirty days of mourning had not passed a new king cannot be crowned yet."

"Pardon me saying this your highnesses , I swear I shall explain everything to you, thou I fear it is not an easy task. I wish to speak to you of your son who is now ruling the kingdom and is forcing people to refer to him as the new king.

"William ruling the kingdom? Without a coronation? Without waiting thirty days? That is against the laws. Our son would never do such a thing, at least without good reason."

"I understand your unwillingness to believe my words but please allow me to speak my mind for I fear I don't have much time. "

Both nodded agreeing to hear the man out.

"Ever since he returned from the Black Waste after his mysterious disappearance the young prince has been like a completely different person. A week after his return the king suddenly died and just days later he began acting as if he was king."

"I'm sure he is just trying to be responsible and live up to his title as the prince." Aurora said in defense, trying to sound gentle but inside she was conflicted.

"That was what I assumed at first as well, your majesty. I was quite close to the lad until he vanished during that expedition. But one night I caught him sneaking out of the castle alone. He met with men from outside the kingdom. When I questioned him about it he had me demoted from my position as the royal captain. Soon enough the same men began appearing at the castle. William began firing the royal knights and replacing them with outsiders, mercenaries , thugs, that have no honor. He made them his own private guard, and ever since their numbers in the kingdom has been increasing . they run around doing as they please since they are the kings men. When I tried to talk some sense into the boy he had me ran out of the kingdom by those brutes."

"What you are saying is, it's unbelievable!" Aurora exclaimed "William would never do anything shady like that."

"Please understand , he has been like a changed person ever since he has returned. He is acting violent and arrogant and some people believe him to be conspiring with foreign factions, some go as far as to believe that he actually is responsible from the kings death."

"No, that can't be" Aurora was shaking her head

"Aurora, you should leave." Philip said turning to her

"No, Philip don't tell me you believe him?"

"Of course not, but I can't seeing you upset like this" he opened and called out to the guards." Please take the queen to her chambers!"

Aurora spent the rest of the day locked in her room. The feeling of overwhelming panic was swelling in her chest. Her son would never do anything bad, let alone plot to murder somebody but the man's words kept ringing in her head. "Ever since he returned he was like a different person." That night the man who brought these words died from his injuries. He was given a quiet burial, everybody was told to keep tight silent about him coming here. Philip never came to bed after things were over, he called a royal guard meeting and they all stayed in the meeting hall until late afternoon. After that he went straight to bed and spoke to nobody.

From that day things seemed to go from uncertain to bad and from that to worse. Aurora wrote her son a letter hoping he would clear up her doubts. However his answer was ambiguous and most unsettling. Soon after William himself came to visit ad at that very moment Aurora understood everything.

Riding in through the main gate in front of a long line of riders in black, of coal dark stallion donning a black crystal armor was William. The man that terrorized her in her nightmares now stood before her. The army of black riders spread wide behind him almost like the wings of a dragon. Tears fell from her eyes and never stopped since then. Philip approached their son but his face was as cold as iron.

"William, what are you doing here?" the king asked

"Father, is this how you welcome me after so many years? I admit I'm insulted"

"Why have you come here?" Philip repeated

"Can I not return home to my loving family?" there was something dark in his voice" If you really must know I have come here to claim what is mine by birth right. I want the crown!"

"And you shall have it, after I and your mother retire from your duties as rulers."

"Well could you please hurry up then. Retire and give the crown to me"

"And if I refuse, William?"

"Well I would be a shame but I suppose I would have no chose but to declare war on you and after I had crushed you I would take what is mine. " the thought of war seemed to light up his face with joy" actually I would prefer the later" he laughed and his voice echoed from the castle walls "

Aurora shivered from this laugh for it sounded completely different from her sons. That laugh was the laugh of a stranger.

"Very well, father . War it is then" William said and turning his horse around rode out of the castle.

* * *

Aurora sat on the floor of the cave leaning against the wet wall. The sound of the falling rain was all that could be heard from the outside. So much has happened. After Philip fell in battle she didn't think she could carry on. William killed the man she loved, the war was over and they lost. She was arrested and locked in a dungeon to wait the day she and her son would be joined in marriage. The thought alone drove mad with despair enough to contemplate taking her own life. Empty and broken she waited for what? She wasn't sure herself. It was the three good fairies who helped her escape. They tried to gather a group of resistance fighters while on the run. But eventually one after another they were killed by Williams troops. Aurora was all alone now, running for her life. But she was tired of running, red of fighting. After all revenge would not bring back the dead.

Her powers as a sorceress had grown considerably since everything began, she had never imagined using her magic for killing until recently. Misery and anger only seemed to make her stronger. While everything around her withered and died her magic seemed to flourish . Aurora cursed the power but refused to abandon her only means of saving her kingdom. She also began to believe that her magic, that had been inside her since birth, was the reason her son turned evil. Somehow it passed into William when she was pregnant and tainted him from within. The cursed power that was the only that now kept her alive. After all it was only after Williams birth that her magic began to awake, and after it did things all made a turn for the worse.

Clutching her knees Aurora cursed her very existences" If only, if only I was never born. None of this would have happened if I had died as a baby. If only I could turn back time." She thought bitterly.

Suddenly she remembered. "I think that'll do nicely"

She teleported herself to the ruins of the falling apart castle, once before she had used it as a hideout from the black knights and just out of boredom went flipping through some old book . it just so happened that it was a spell book. After searching for it for hours in the old elf castle in the mountains she finally found it.

"It isn't very effective as time travel spell go and there are a lot of requirements to be met , and there is no way to reverse it one it has been cast, not that I would want to come back here. And can only be cast once. I see. It doesn't matter, once this is over I will be dead one way or another."

She began preparing for casting the spell. Drawing the magical circle on the floor and preparing the potion that will enact it. Then she read the words from the book. "Soon this nightmare will be over at last."

The glowing window to the past opened and as the queen walked through it the black raven followed suit.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

When she awoke Aurora was lying flat on the floor of the same room she had just left. She cursed under her breath, damming her power that had never failed before but now when she really needed it failed. The spell could only be cast once and she blew it. Aurora hit her fists against the floor until blood began pour from the wounds. Dragging her heavy feet she walked to the window and was suddenly blinded by a stray beam of sunlight. "Sun?" she drew back into the shadows of the room" it can't be, ever since William took over the kingdoms there has been nothing but darkness, an eternal night with no sun or stars." She gazed out the window again and the image before her was a bright sunny day and a deep green forest, beyond it were the working fields and in the distance stood the castle. Aurora turned to her pet raven " Quickly my pet, go and see what flags the castle bares." She still couldn't wrap her head around this situation. Had the spell not failed? Or did it work after all.

She paced back and forth in agitation until her raven returned in his beak carrying the flag with king Stephan's crest on it. "This is my father's flag! So I am back after all. No king Stefan couldn't possibly be my father, he was such a king and gentle man, he could never be my father for I am the mother of a devil. And Queen Leah is not my mother"

Aurora looked at herself in the dusty mirror, her hair had grown long, so very long and her clothes were nothing but rags underneath a dirty old cloak. Her eyes had dark rings underneath them, her skin was pale and with all the weight she lost she looked like a skeleton more than a human. "I have to do something about the hair" she mussed " I cannot be recognized , that is the condition of the spell, nobody must know who I am."

The literal translation from old elvish was:" one who cast it cannot look themotherselves in the eye unless they wish to die."

Looking around she found some old rags and a moth eaten curtain using magic she transformed them into a long black dress then changed her hair colour into black. "No, this won't do." After some thinking she remembered the old legend about the elves that used to live here and the evil entity the annihilated them. She transformed the old curtains into a large black cloak with a hood. "Still ,not quite right." Closing her eyes she tried to imagine the evil entity but what came to her mind was the black dragon from her son's flag breathing black fire. She opened her eyes and smiled "Yes this will do nicely, after all a mother of a devil is a devil too." The hood had transformed into a horned headdress and the cloak looked like frozen flame. Then she change her blue eyes, the eyes that looked like her mothers and were the biggest give away of their relation, into the yellowish eyes of a lizard. She decided to keep the pale colour of her face, combined with the inhuman eyes it gave off an intimidating feeling . Her voice had lost its gentleness and carefree tone many years ago; it became harsh cold and drenched bitterness.

"I am not the queen, I am not parents child, I am the devils mother. I am the mistress of all evil! Hence forth I shall be known as Maleficent!" she proclaimed to an empty room. " Princess Aurora will die by my hand, this I swear!"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Aurora had arrived some time before her birth. This gave her enough time to come up with a plan. Killing one of her parents would surely prevent her from being born, but no matter how much she hated her own existence, the former queen could not do it. She did, however, try to prevent their first meeting.

Prince Stefan was to marry Leah a daughter of a nobleman it was an arranged marriage. Soon to be queen was on her way to the castle when she sent a green orb to hypnotize the man driving the carriage and sent them both to the swamps in a trance. If the bride to be did not come to her wedding it would cause a scandal and the wedding would be canceled, Stephan would have to marry someone else. It seemed simple enough.

Meanwhile in the castle everybody was impatiently waiting for future queen to arrive. They were to be married few days after her arrival. She was set to arrive sometime in the afternoon, however as the sun began to set there was still no trace of her. The court began to whisper strange things. Stefan was nervous, maybe bandits had attacked her on her way or maybe the carriage broke down. He had never met her but the two had exchanged letters for many years. In his heart he had come to love Leah, and now his heart was telling him she needed him. He turned to the three good fairies for help, they agreed to use their magic to help locate Leah.

Aurora sat in the carriage next to her mother who was under a sleeping spell. The air around her tingled, somebody was using magic to peek in on them. She quickly cast a spell to hide her presence. It appeared that their location had been found.

Flora stared into the bubble with the image of the carriage. It was some kind of swamp; the driver was asleep on his post. Inside they saw the future queen she seemed unharmed and asleep. "Something is wrong" the fairy said" there is another person with her, but I can't see who" there was dark, creepy looking shadow next to her. "I sense dark magic at work" Fauna whispered. "Dark magic? But who would…" the blue fairy looked confused; there had not been any magical creatures for miles around, no fairies except for the three. "I don't know Merryweather but they seem powerful, we need to be careful."

Stefan gathered his soldiers and with the good fairies guiding the way left to retrieve his bride. When she felt them approaching Aurora cast a fog around the area. Many of the nights got lost in the thick mist and wondered into the swamp. Their cries for help echoed all around the swamp. None of it stopped Stefan from reaching the clearing where the carriage was.

Aurora felt a little anxious, deep in her heart she knew she could never truly the man who would become her father or her future mother but she had to do something to stop them giving birth to her only then could the terrible future be undone. The memories of what will happen gave her new resolve. She picked up the unconscious woman and with a wave of her hand made the carriage turn into smoke and prepared to greet the soon to be king.

Upon entering the clearing Stefan froze, the mist parted revealing a strange human like creature with horns holding an unconscious woman in its arms. "Leah" he called out but the woman didn't stir. He walked closer, now he could see the face of the strange creature it appeared to be a woman; an unnaturally tall and slender woman dressed in black with a cloak that resembled fire and wings. It was like nothing he had ever seen before in any of the books on magical creatures. "Leah" he called again but she remained motionless" Who are you? What have you done to her, you monster?" he asked anger and desperation in his voice.

It hurt hearing her own father call her a monster, yet at the same time she knew it was true. Regardless of the insult she spoke in a polite tone. "Calm yourself, your majesty, she is only sleeping. And I would be happy to return her to you in exchange for a little favor".

But before she could finish the three good fairies came flying in from the fog:" Don't listen to her your majesty," Flora shouted while waiving her wand and sending a sphere of light towards her. Aurora send Leah away in a puff of smoke and blocked the attack with a force field. the other two fairies tried to hit her from behind with a surprise attack. Raising her hands she surrounded herself with green flame, the attacks bounced back and hit the fairies. "Fools" she shouted from the fire while laughing "Do you have any idea who you're dealing with? I am Maleficent! The mistress of all evil! You think your petty tricks will work on me? "She sent an orb of green fire to attack the fairies again. It split in to three chasing after each one of the sisters separately. Maleficent laughed watching them trying to keep their skirts from catching on fire. Secretly in her mind Aurora was apologizing to them a thousand times.

Meanwhile Stefan used the commotion and the fog to get passed Maleficent and run towards where he saw the unconscious figure of Leah on the ground. He put her head into his lap, she was beautiful, all the anxiety he had before about marrying a woman he never met had vanished. Gently he kissed her on the forehead" I promise I will protect you". Suddenly her eyes fluttered open " Stefan? Is that you?". "Leah, are you alright? Did she hurt you? . "She?" the young woman gave him a confused look. Then suddenly she became aware of her surroundings.

The fairies managed to get rid of the fire chasing them by making all three of them collide and destroy each other. Then they rushed to Stefan and Lead , putting up a magical around them. . Before Maleficent could react a group of soldiers found their way to the clearing and surrounded her. Grinding her teeth in annoyance Maleficent vanished in a vortex of green flame. "This isn't over!" She shouted back at them.

Back at the castle the three fairies had a meeting at the library. Fauna flew to her sisters carrying a huge book. "I found it! I found it!" she said exited. "What did you find?" Asked the blue fairy." I thought the name Maleficent sounded familiar, it's right here in this book" she pointed. The other two put their heads together reading the page " a long time ago in the Forbidden mountains there was a great magical kingdom. One day a powerful evil from far away attacked that kingdom and destroyed it."." How mean! " Flora stated" Keep reading!" Merryweather reminded her." The evil entity had taken up residence in the ruins of the kingdom and from there wreaked havoc upon the surrounding lands. For all the evil that it has committed the people named the entity Maleficent. Then one day all the kings and lords of nearby kingdoms united and stormed the Forbidden keep with a huge army and Maleficent troubled the kingdoms no more."

"oh, I don't like this" Flora said. " It can't be the same Maleficent, she was defeated hundreds of years ago" Merryweather stated ." Clearly , she has come back, and she wants to take revenge," Flora made her conclusion. "let us not forget that the rulers of this kingdom are the descendants of the lords that lead the attack on the Forbidden mountains. " the three were silent for a moment lowering their heads in thought of the grim situation. "Can't we just defeat her again?" Merryweather asked. "I don't know" Flora finally said." We can try to." "But she hasn't done any harm yet" Fauna objected" wouldn't it be wrong to attack her like this. "Surely you are not suggesting that we wait until she does!?" Flora snapped at her younger sister. "No, all I meant that attacking someone like this is something evil fairies do, and besides nobody got hurt today, we saved lady Leah. It all turned out alright. Maybe we should worry about Maleficent."

"Say what you want. I still worry" Flora said. "We know next to nothing about this Maleficent" Merryweather said" fighting her head on without knowing anything about her we are sure to lose." "Yes, you are right, we should wait, but be on your guard; we have no idea what she will try next." The two nodded in response.

Unseen in the black night a black raven jumped of the window sell of the library and flew off towards the forbidden mountains.


	8. Chapter 8

Many times she attempted to stop what seemed to be inevitable. When the first plan failed, Aurora became more determined to stop the future from happening. Long and hard she thought about the best way to deal with the problem with nothing to show for it. Barely sleeping and completely forgetting about food she wandered the harsh landscape of the mountains. Many plans rose in her mind and shattered instantly. She might have magic but she was not almighty, it was nearly impossible to storm the castle all by herself. But unless she found a way, putting a special curse on her mother would be impossible. She had devised a curse the will prevent the queen from bearing a child. However to cast it she needed to be in front of the target-that meant getting into the castle. Transporting herself inside while there were guards from both kingdoms was too dangerous. She couldn't fight an army all alone. Thou she was used to running and fighting and even killing, there was a difference between small groups of four to eight and two hundred soldiers. Despair was gnawing at her soul. Was there no way to change this fate? The thought of not being to change the future terrified her. Determined to do whatever it took she headed back to her castle. Besides the door was a glowing light, a letter. A smile crept on her face and she laughed holding the piece of paper – it was an invitation to the royal wedding.

Flora was concerned because of the recent events. The appearance of Maleficent was a reason to worry but the green fairy saw no reason to take action against the mysterious sorceress. She even suggested that they invite her to the wedding as a gesture of good will. Her two sisters were against it. They seemed to believe that Maleficent was evil, without having sufficient proof. So hoping to prove her sisters wrong she went to the Forbidden Mountains, no one was there. The fairy wasn't sure if this was where Maleficent really lived, this was only the place mentioned in the legend. It was a desolate and eerie place; no plants only grey rocks, the ruins of an ancient castle looked like some intimidating monster in the shadow of the mountain. The wind howled in the cracks sending chills down her spine. Placing the invitations where it was most likely to be seen, the tiny fairy fled back to the safety the king's castle.

The royal wedding was something the whole kingdom was looking forward to. The preparations began many days ago, the guest has already gathered. All waiting for tomorrow. Everyone , from servants to the nobles, to the king were in a jolly mood, looking forward towards the feast, or guessing what the bride will be wearing, or trying to guess what present which noble will give, and of course the possibility of a future heir. The tree fairies were making their own preparations- magical gifts to the newlyweds. After careful consideration they finally agreed upon the best suited gifts. Meanwhile in her castle Maleficent was making her on preparations. The curse she crafted, she carefully place into a ring. A beautiful silver ring with a large red stone, now all the queen had to do was put on and the curse would take effect. She found the ring in one of the rooms in the castle, there were quite a few treasures left from the old days. Maleficent put her "gift" in an ornament decorated box. Sleep evaded her, sitting her tower she watched the night sky waiting for tomorrow. It was for the best.

She stood outside the palace gate, memories of the old days flashing In her mind. Hesitation overcame her. Meanwhile inside the palace the nobles were preparing to give their gifts to the future king and queen. Many different gifts from various parts of the world were place before the royal couple: silks and diamonds, chests of gold, swords crafted by the world's best smiths, horses, beautiful dresses , exotic birds in cages and hunting dogs of noble breeds and many other things. Finally it was the fairies turn. Fauna went first and blessed the couple with the gift of long life, Flora followed with the gift of blooming youth for many years to come. Last came Merryweather with a blessing of good health. With the gift giving now over the musicians prepared to play a jolly song and call the quests for a dance, but before they could begin the door burst open in a sudden gust of wind. A lone dark figure appeared on the steps. Silence fell upon the ballroom and all present turned to gaze at the door.

Prince Stefan and the fairies were the first to come to their senses. "Maleficent!" they recognized the figure. "Greetings your highness and congratulations on this joyous day" she greeted in a polite tone. " What are you doing here?" Fauna asked suspiciously." Obviously, I was invited, just like everyone here." She made the invitation appear in her hand. Silent whispers were heard in the crowd. "No one invited you, you no good witch" Merryweather snapped. " A actually, I did" Flora silently confessed. The whispers in the crowd grew slightly louder. "Oh my, I fear there has been a misunderstanding. "Maleficent laughed, then she turned to the royal couple "I too, have brought a gift" she made the box with the ring appear and sent it floating to the princess. Leah opened the box that landed on her lap." Is it not to your liking, your majesty?" Maleficent asked in sweet voice that merely an echo of the genuine sweetness she once had. "No, it's beautiful" the princess replied "Thank you", gently she took the ring and put it on. A strange feeling of dizziness overcame her but she smiled like nothing had happened. Aurora could not bear seeing her parent alive again, being in the home of her childhood brought back too many painful memories. Two of the fairies and prince Stefan as well as some nobles were glaring daggers at her. Using it as an excuse she said" I see am not wanted, I shall take my leave." She turned around slowly walking away. Leah reached out a hand to stop her but Stefan shook his head. When she was out of sight Maleficent teleported back to her castle. Even the small display of magic that she use earned her disapproving looks, had they seen her true power they would have most likely sent the guards against her. Regardless, her plan worked, she had to admit to herself , she thought she would feel happier than she did, instead she felt like crying.

"Flora, I can't believe you invited **her **of all people" Fauna was furious with her sister" Who knows what might have happened!". "Yes, but she didn't do anything" the green fairy argued." She was nice enough to bring a gift," "Did you forget that she tried to kidnap the princess just a week ago?". "well, yes. But maybe it was all just a misunderstanding" Fauna just shook her head in disappointment. "That woman is trouble, I just know it"


	9. Chapter 9

For a while it had seemed that the crisis was avoided. The curse inside the ring was silently doing its work . Aurora was please enough to not interfere with the affairs of her father's kingdom any further. She spent her time in silent lament of the things she had done and the things that had been done to her. Wandering the Forbidden mountains or reading the books left behind in the castle by the elves.

However history is not that easy to change. Fate has a strange way of working it's course. It was about two weeks after the royal wedding had taken place that queen Leah had fallen ill. King Stefan spent as much time by her side as his royal duties allowed him to. The love of his life seemed to grow weaker every day. "You must find out what is wrong with her!" he pleaded the three good fairies when yet another doctor left unable to determine the cause of this mysterious illness. "We will do our best ,your majesty." Fauna assured him. The trio took out their wands and pointed them at the sleeping queen. A glowing aura surrounded her, tiny lights running up and down her form. "Well? What's wrong with her?" the king asked impatiently ." Patience, your highness" the red fairy attempted to calm the man. " it will take some time for the magic to run it's course, before we know for sure." After a while the light dispersed and turned into three orbs of light. Each orb returned to it's respective fairy. " Oh, dear" Flora exclaimed after taping her orb with her wand. "What's wrong ?" the other two asked in unison. There were a few small black and purple sparkles in the orb . The two sisters tapped their orbs and received the same result." What does it mean?" Stefan asked. "Black magic" the red sister replied in a grave tone. "But who could have done this to the queen?" Flora asked in disbelief. "I think we all know who it was " Merryweather replied angrily" Maleficent! That's who." "We don't know this for sure" Flora countered the accusation.

The fairy trio decided to examine the ring for traces of magic. Soon enough their spells returned with black sparkling dust inside. " Well, there was definitely magic inside it" Fauna said" but I can't make out what it was or what it was for, it's gone now." "But we know who to blame" the blue fairy said. Flora watched silently, not sure what to say, after all she was the one who invited Maleficent. "Well, what do we do now?" Fauna asked her sisters. "If we don't know what spell was used, we can't very well counter it" " I say, we go straight to Maleficent and beat that old witch until undoes the spell" Merryweather said in a confident voice. " Now, now , Merryweather," Fauna tried to calm her down" let's now be rash. We need to think this trough. Maleficent is clearly very powerful, casting a spell that our magic can't analyze or undo. Rushing into a fight with her would be most unwise." The blue fairy pouted" Then what do you want us to do?" "Perhaps we could reason with her?" Flora finally dared to speak. Her sister just shook her head" What if she demands the entire kingdom in return or something terrible. Maybe this was all part of her plan, cursing the queen to get us to come to her and give into her evil demands!" "But we can't just do nothing" the blue sister argued. " For now let's just pretend that the queen is well and all is good. Maleficent will think that her plan failed!" "But what if the queen gets worse?" Flora asked concerned. " Don't worry, I will call for help form another kingdom. I happen to know someone who is a very skilled healer. I am sure she will be able to help." "What should we tell the king?" Flora asked." Tell him, that everything is going to be all right" she said with confidence.


End file.
